DIY Pattern Holder

Today I’m taking two of my recent thrifty finds & making them into something useful! The idea for this DIY pattern holder came about when I stacked one item into another for storage. I thought, hmmm, I know what I can do with that! Sometimes, that’s how these DIY projects go – you never know when inspiration will strike! I did a video of me making this & I’m linking it at the bottom. You’ll get a little glimpse into my creative process, which isn’t always pretty! : D

Thrifty Finds

For today’s project I’m using an old sewing machine drawer & vinyl record rack. These were part of the big thrifty haul I found last month. If you want to see what else I found, check out this video & this video.

As I said before, this idea occurred to me when I realized the record rack fit just right inside the drawer. The wheels started turning & I thought – that would be great for holding patterns! I usually have a pile of patterns next in line for sewing on my work table.

I thought the two thrifted items would be great together to help organize those patterns. It will also be useful to hold zippers, buttons, & such that go with the pattern. I can put all that in the drawer part & leave my patterns up top. First, I need to give them a good cleaning…

This is just some all-purpose cleaning spray, a grout brush, & terry cloth towel. These all came from Grove Collaborative, by the way. I love their products! Click the link & you can get a 5 piece gift set with your first purchase – whoop, whoop! : D

Paint It

I’m painting the record rack & drawer knob with Rustoleum 2X Ultra Cover in Oil Rubbed Bronze.

This paint gives a nice coat of black with flecks of a bronze-y gold color.

For the drawer, I’m painting the insides & top edges with DecoArt Extreme Sheen in Bronze. I found mine at Home Depot, so check there if you have one nearby.

The next thing I did was add some small screws on each side to help hold the record rack on top of the drawer. I think these are leftovers from my jewelry box I took apart. Maybe I should have waited longer for the paint to dry….oops!

I also should have measured for the screw placement!

Oh well, it still fits! I ultimately decided to paint the outside of the drawer with my favorite chalk paint in Vintage. I’ll have to touch up the top with some more bronze paint…

I touched up the bronze paint & let it come down the sides a bit. When everything was dry, I scuffed up the corners & edges with some fine grit sandpaper.

Then it was a once over with the creme wax, a good buffing when it was dry, & voila! My DIY pattern holder is complete!

The drawer is perfect for holding my dressmakers chalk & some zippers for upcoming projects.

I’ve got larger patterns folded over to in the back, some PDF patters I printed out, a quilt pattern, & 3 shirt patterns in the front. There’s still room to spare!

This is going to be awesome to keep all my patterns in progress organized! I can even use it to hold the pattern I’m working on for reference. Super pleased with how this turned out! : D

You can see most of the process in the video below ~>

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